Is Gemma Connected to Irving? This Convincing Severance Fan Theory Says She Actually Is
This assumption explains Burt and Irving's relationship, the latter's strange, dark paintings, his military background, and his knowledge of other severed workers.
The first season of Severance ended with such a powerful cliffhanger that the three years of waiting became unbearable torture. It turned out that Ms. Casey is Gemma, Mark's wife, who he thought died in a car accident.
Fortunately, the strikes in Hollywood ended – and on January 17, Severance made a spectacular return.
Season 2 Episode 7 Finally Takes Us to the Testing Floor
It was not until the seventh episode that we finally got a glimpse of what happened to Gemma on the testing floor. Perhaps she agreed to become Lumon's test subject herself after several unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant – it was her way to cope with the feeling of loss, desperation and fear.
It is proved by the scene in the hospital lobby where Mark and Gemma arrive – there, we see the same doctor who performs the procedures on the testing floor.
While the ultimate purpose of the experiment on Gemma and what happens in the room called Cold Harbor remains a mystery, fans speculate that Gemma was not the first test subject. The first one was Irving.
Fan Theory Suggests That Irving Was a Test Subject on the Testing Floor Before Gemma
Redditor Burnaway9842 suggests that Irving was on the testing floor before Gemma. This would explain why he remembers the elevator that only goes down and draws it in his paintings, as well as the fact that his outie has the information about other severed workers.
Fans have already speculated that Irving was severed not once, but twice, and this fits with the fact that he was a test subject on the testing floor. Perhaps, like Gemma, he initially wanted to rid himself of the burden of traumatic memories – in his case, from his military service.
Burt Was Irving's Dr. Mauer
Fans also believe that Irving's "mentor," like Dr. Mauer for Gemma, was none other than Burt himself. After the first season finale, a theory emerged that Burt and Irving's romance on the severed floor was not their first, and that they symbolized the idea of eternal love that cannot be erased by the severance process.
However, the fact that Burt may have been Irving's mentor takes this story in a darker direction. Perhaps Bert, as Dr. Mauer, began to develop feelings for his protégé, leading to the failure of the experiment.
In Episode 6, Burt proved that he has a longer history with Lumon than we thought, and his past is full of dark secrets and regrets.
